and when you fall I'll be there to catch you
by aqaws321
Summary: There are times when one can go through incredible trauma and desperate situations and come out unscathed, unaffected. This is not one of those times.


**Tamuril2 wanted more of my "Lies" 'verse, so here is another continuation of it. This takes place after part three, and all of the parts can be found in chapters 4,5, and 7 of my story, "The Life and Times of MacGyver and Co."**

 **Here's the link (remove the spaces)to the first part of this 'verse, which is pretty much the only chapter that is almost required reading for this story. I mean, it can be read as a standalone, but it makes a lot more sense if you know what's going on.**

 **www. fanfiction s/ 12252001/4/ The-Life-and -Times-of-MacGyver-and-Co**

 **Her full prompt is at the bottom.**

 **Warnings for: Canon-typical violence, references to torture, panic attacks. Nothing is too graphic, though.**

* * *

Jack watches worriedly as his young friend huddles further into his seat. The debriefing room is cold, yes, but not near cold enough to warrant the hunched posture that his friend has been slowly giving into over the past few minutes. Jack slides his chair a couple inches closer, rolling himself into arm's reach. Carefully, slowly, making sure he doesn't startle his friend, Jack lays his jacket over MacGyver's shoulders. The blond huddles into the worm leather, arms finding their way through the armholes unthinkingly.

Jack smiles at the familiar sight, the ball of worry in his gut beginning to abate just a bit. The older man has lost count of how many times he's seen MacGyver go through the same actions. The blond feels the cold easily, and has a tendency to stare at Jack until the older man lets the younger borrow his jacket.

However, when MacGyver leta out a full-body shudder and sinks even lower in the seat, long sleeves covering hands that are clutching at his own elbows, Jack feels the ball of worry wind up even tighter. He gazes at his friend, watching, as the young man visibly shakes himself out of whatever memory he's fallen into.

It's been two weeks since the mission, and, even though the boy's (still a boy, only a few short months removed from his teens, and too young for things such as torture and night terrors and the feeling that he will never be safe) physical wounds have almost healed, the mental ones have not. There are scars that will not fade on his body, and Jack can only hope that the scars in his memories will not follow suit.

The door squeaks open, and Jack glances up. He watches as the woman that's been debriefing them for the past couple missions (Patricia Thornton, a nice enough woman, someone they work well with) walks in. She sits quietly in the seat at the head of the table, two folders in hand. The brunet hands a folder to each agent, and Jack opens his to see the pile of paper that he is expected to fill out after each mission. He grabs a pen from the cupholder on the middle of the table and begins to write, telling his account of the mission.

* * *

Halfway through his mission report, Jack glances across the table at MacGyver. He watches for a moment as the kid slowly and painstakingly writes words down on the sheet, and then transfers his gaze to Thornton. The woman seems as worried as he feels, given the way that she is watching the younger agent as well.

After another couple minutes of gazing at his friend, Jack's fear that the kid will fall into a flashback from remembering the mission is abated, at least for the time being. He is about to begin his report again, when an idea strikes him.

The man stands, pretending to stretch, then picks up his papers and pen. He walks around the table, plopping down in the chair right by MacGyver. The younger man looks up at Jack, his features twisted in confusion. "What're you doing?"

The words are quiet, barely above a mumble. Jack shrugs as he answers, carefully nonchalant, "Eh, couldn't take the sight of you freezing your skinny little butt off anymore. I figure that if I sit over here I'll not only block some of the air from the vent, I'll be radiating some heat as well, and that should keep you warm." Jack waits a beat, then adds, "You know, because I'm so hot?"

This earns a small eye roll and a tiny smile from MacGyver, and Jack mentally cheers. The blond hasn't been smiling much in the past few weeks. Thornton has pretended to be engrossed in whatever work she brought with her, but, as Jack goes back to his work, he catches a small, relieved smile flick across the woman's face.

The man doesn't miss the way his surrogate brother shifts closer to him, though. The way he brushes arms with the older man. The way his feet rest right next to Jack's.

Perhaps it would feel stifling to others, but to Jack, it feels natural.

* * *

They've finished their reports and are about to head out the door when Thornton stops them. Well, she stops Jack specifically, and MacGyver seems to be distracted by a paperclip he found on the table.

Jack didn't see that paperclip when he walked in, and he wouldn't put it past Thornton to purposefully distract the younger agent with something like that.

The brunets huddle together, their voices low as they talk. "Do you know how he's been?" Thornton murmurs.

Jack nods. "It's been rough. Lotta nightmares, but they're getting better. We camped out in the woods a couple days, and that seemed to help."

Thornton nodded slowly. "I'm just worried about how he's coping when he's alone."

Jack shook his head, a small smile playing about his lips. "He's not alone too much. I've been staying at his house. His roommate is on an all-expenses-paid trip to Europe at some kind of film festival tour thing, which, honestly, couldn't have come at a better-"

Jack stops suddenly, peering at his superior in suspicion. She looks weirdly innocent, but she merely says, "It's good that any awkward questions are avoided. And, Jack," she hesitates, then pushes on. "I know we're not very close or anything, but- I'm glad. That he's not alone."

MacGyver's gotten bored with the paperclip at this point, and he's begun to look towards the door. The blond obviously doesn't want to interrupt the older agents' conversation, but the way he's fidgeting clues Jack in on the fact that the young man is beginning to become uncomfortable in the enclosed space.

Jack resolutely doesn't dwell on the fact that having to write out his mission report probably messed with the kid's brain big time.

Thornton nods toward MacGyver once, saying, "Take care of him," and then she sweeps out the door and is gone.

Jack runs a hand over his face quickly, then turns and smiles at the kid, a sunny expression that belies the storm that churns in his gut. "Ready to go find something to eat?"

MacGyver nods, looking like a teen again, especially with the baggy jacket over his shoulders. It's made for someone broader and more muscular, because, while the kid's certainly fit and muscular for his size, he's _lean_. Jack's made it his mission in life to get a bit more meat on his friend's bones, because the kid's pretty skinny, especially after their stint in captivity. Their captors weren't big on three square meals a day, and when the two did receive food, MacGyver often couldn't keep it down. When he was able to not vomit it back up almost immediately, he often did so later during his near-constant beatings.

Jack doesn't think about that. Instead, he holds the door open, motioning for MacGyver to go first. The blond does so, stepping out of the door and looking somewhat relaxed for one of the first times in days.

* * *

It doesn't last.

* * *

MacGyver's walking out the door when something tackles him from the side, shoving him against the wall playfully. It's a young man, around three years older than the blond. He's tall, fit like Mac, but more built. He seems to have grown into his body in a way that the younger man hasn't yet, but will over the next few years.

Jack's clued in to the identity of the blur not only by the pale skin and wild red hair, but also by the man that approaches the trio at a more sedate pace. It's Archie Edwards, a man that Jack and MacGyver have worked with before. Both Mac and Jack like the man and his partner, the aforementioned blur by the name of Clancy Rowan.

The redhead has obviously tried to continue the ongoing game that he and Mac had started a little while ago- trying to surprise the other whenever they saw them- but Jack can only curse mentally as he realizes what has really happened. Edwards and Rowan had been on a long, deep-cover mission. They must've just arrived back.

Which means they had no clue what had happened on Jack and Mac's last mission.

Rowan has no idea what he's doing. The redhead releases his younger friend when it becomes apparent that the blond's struggles are more panicked than playful, and Jack rushes forward as his partner hits the floor on his hands and knees, his breathing frantic and panic filling his gaze.

Rowan is pulled back by Edwards as the more experienced man realizes what's happening. Jack ignores the men behind him and focuses only on MacGyver, who has started to mumble frantically.

Jack's breath is stolen from him as the words coming from the kid hit him. "Please, please don't- I don't _know_ \- I can't tell you. Please-"

Jack tries to catch his friend's attention, gently bringing his chin up in an attempt to make the blond's gaze redirect to Jack. It doesn't work, though, as the kid jerks back, blond strands of hair fluttering in his eyes and obscuring the panicked blue for a second as he lets out a horrible keening noise that rips into Jack with vicious fangs and claws that leave bloody streaks on his heart.

The man glances up as he hears a sound ten feet down the hall. He finds, to his relief, that Edwards and Rowan have each taken an end of the hallway and are keeping other agents from heading down the corridor. It isn't common, but it has happened before, that an agent has gone into a panic attack or had a flashback in these halls, and the agents are sensitive to the needs of their fellow operatives.

Jack's attention is wrenched back to his friend as MacGyver lets out another muffled gasp, a desperate, pleading note in his voice as he murmurs, "Sleep- just let me _sleep_ -"

Jack lays a hand on his arm, gentle enough to not startle the younger man too badly. Mac's attention snaps up to him, and his gaze lights in recognition. Ac ool rush of relief goes through Jack, the man thinking that perhaps his brother is coming around. That hope is shattered as MacGyver says, "You're- you're back here? They got you too, we're both back here-"

The blond cuts himself off, clamping his lips shut so tight that they turn white with pressure. Jack's breath vanishes again at the obvious terror in the blond's gaze. There's a beat of silence, broken only by MacGyver's harsh, ragged breathing, before the blond pitches forward, burying his face in Jack's chest. Jack brings his hands up to pull the blond against him, to try to use physical contact to bring him out of his memories. Then he hears it.

"Lie to me, Jack."

Jack freezes, unsure if he heard the words correctly. His suspicions are confirmed, however, when the words come again and again and again, their jagged edges tearing into Jack. "Jack, please, I don't-lie to me, Jack. Lie to me- lie- don't leave- lie to me- tell me we're going to be okay- lie to me, please, just- _lie to me._ "

Jack is unable to move for a heartbeat, the fraction of a second expanding into seconds- minutes- hours. Then, the blond shifts in his arms, and Jack tightens his grip. He bends his head, saying softly but fiercely, " _No._ "

He feels MacGyver shift again in his grip, and he continues. "We're safe. That's not a lie. We're home. That's not a lie. Do you hear me, kiddo? I'm _not lying_."

Jack's voice catches on the last sentence. He trips over the words, but gets them out audibly. He repeats them, over and over and over, not knowing how long, until his partner- friend- _brother_ lifts a haunted, tear-stained gaze to the brunet. "Jack?"

The older man nods. He says, "Yeah, kid. It's me."

MacGyver's face crumples in relief, his mind back in the present. He leans into Jack, who is sitting against the wall. Jack's jacket has somehow stayed on the kid's skinny shoulders all throughout this time, and it seems bigger than ever as pale hands clutch it close.

There'll be time for explanations and thanks for their friends later, but for now, two brothers sit side by side, the older holding the younger close, while the smaller listens to the comforting sound of the larger's heartbeat.

* * *

 **Full prompt: Mac and Jack are just back from that awful mission. Some agent does a joke where he sneaks up on Mac and yells "Boo!" while tackling him. The agent isn't doing it out of malice or anything. He (mysterious agent you get to name) and Mac do this a lot. Keep each other on their toes. This time though...Mac goes into full on panic mode. I'm talking complete fade out of reality. He thinks he's back with those bad men. He's pleading with Jack to "lie to him". Jack is the only one who can get him back to reality.**

 **I just... I really like the idea of Jack letting MacGyver wear his jacket and then the jacket is too big for him and ugh my heart**

 **Also, headcanon time: I think that MacGyver grows a little late, and, as a result, is like a little shorter than average until he hits like twenty, and then he just starts growing like a weed. (Also, that jacket in the show? Don't know if they've canonly told us where it's from, but if they haven't it's Jack's old jacket. Pass it on.)**


End file.
